UNSOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND BUSINESS

Dr.
A. Nagraj

In
the last four decades communication has undergone radical changes with the
evolving technologies. People have used the technological tools especially the
media tools to communicate and also to exchange information. The social
networking sites have gone few steps ahead; the sites are not only for exchange
of information and ideas, but also for reveling oneself to the outside world.
The revelations can be at times disturbing, the freedom of giving the choice of
liking or disliking by your friends and others on the social media, in the
recent past has generated more controversies with regard to individuals,
celebrities and other personalities. Today people are more conscious about what
to tweet, and what to post on their social sites. While some post for being in
limelight, for others it is an addiction towards the sites.The curiosity of
wanting to know what is happening with others and within the group members, and
staying online has made more people addicted to these sites in the last few
years;the involvement has gone so far that people forget their own
surroundings. “The addictive aspect of social networking is associated with
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Everyone is on Facebook. They're posting things,
sharing news and content and talking to each other 24/7” (Mike Elgan). People
who are supposed to switch off their mobile phones in places like boardroom
meetings, official functions, in theaters, hospitals, and other functions are
least concerned with the inconvenience they create for others. The integration,
interlinking and abridge applications of many of these social networking sites
on the mobile phones, and the constant updates/reminders on one’s mobile phones
with regard to the messages that are pending, makes oneself to indulge into
these sites. The new features that are added and the constant upgrading of the
sites is also one of the reasons for the people to get addicted to the sites.
The addiction has gone so far that, warning signboards are in places with
regard to taking selfies, the urge to do unique things and to get noticed by
friends and pears on social networking sites with their unique selfies have
resulted in numerous deaths and accidents.Mass awareness campaigning and public
service advertisements (PSA) are now aired on television with regard to mobile
phones and social sites.

From
exchanging information and ideas, the social networking sites are now used for
buying and selling. We have also seen the mobilization of mob groups who
continuously criticize people on these sites; we have come across instances,
where individuals are indulging in acts that are considered to be crime. Someone
from Indore wants to sell his wife for one lakh, while a Chinese wanted to sell
his baby daughter on social sites for 2,500 pounds.People who are willing to
sell their wife’s, girlfriends, daughters, sons and sister are becoming more
common these days, equally there are people who are willing to buy or bid in
the auctions. The sites have become a platform for gratifying the individual
needs, people are ready to sell their on kin and kith for iPhones, and various
other gadgets, some do it in order to be out of debts, while some others do it
for fun and revenge.

Today
the social networking sites have become more unsocial than social. One may have
come across many instances of social site abuse, especially related to content
and visuals. Individual’s celebrities and other famous personalities are all
victims of these groups. The sites are turning out to be, more of accusing each
other rather having a healthy debate. The acquisitions and counter acquisitions
by political parties, ideological groups and other groups have taken over the
social networking sites.Instance of media personalities quitting the social
media sites have become very common these days, not for being able to counter
or answer the mob or the opposition members, but for constant trolling and
abuse (language) that is considered to be very low. Television journalist and
other social activists have quit the social networking sites, people like Amartya Sen, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghose, Ravish Kumar, woman
journalist from Delhi, John Daya, Rahul Kanwal, Arvind Kejriwal,
Julia Angwin, a Wall Street Journal reporter, Douglas Rushkoff,
all of these personalities have been trolled or have faced social media abuse
for their comments and active participation in socio-political and others
issues.

People
who genuinely contribute to a healthy discussion, and who are considered to be
unbiased are also been trolled by the special mobs. People with hidden agenda
to defame and malign the popular voices are becoming very active on the social
sites; especially it has been found that the rightwing groups are actively
involved in trolling people with secular voices. In majority of the cases where
the trolling’s have been reported, it has been found that all of them have
ideological linkages with the rightwing groups, especially the Hinduthava
groups, people who have worked throughout their lives to counter the
superstitious beliefs and are rationalist have been threatened to death by many
such groups.Ultimately these threats on social media and other media sites have
turned into reality.

About the author: The author, Dr. A. Nagraj is
serving as Assistant Professor at the department of English and Foreign
Languages University, Hyderabad after 12 years rendering services at Tezpur
University, Tezpur, Assam.

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